In his introductory press conference after being named Penguins director of hockey operations, Kyle Dubas explained how he evaluates his team against its opposition.
“I think that the major focus, No. 1, is inside our division. That’s the way I always looked at things,” Dubas said. “Rather than try to stack ourselves up against all 31 other teams, let’s focus on our division. Let’s focus on trying to win our division. We play the most games there. That’s what’s going to set our playoff seeding. We’ve got to be inside the top three to lock ourselves in, and our goal is going to be to win the division.”
Last season, the Penguins finished fifth in the Metropolitan Division, just two points behind the fourth-place New York Islanders but 16 points behind the New York Rangers, who held down the third guaranteed playoff spot behind Carolina and New Jersey.
How much has the division changed in the offseason? The Trib is offering a team-by-team look this week:
New York Islanders
The New Jersey Islanders made few additions to a roster that squeaked into the 2023 playoffs on the last day of the season. While they spent significant money to retain the likes of goaltenders Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov as well as defenseman Scott Mayfield, there are few newcomers of note. Journeyman forward Julien Gauthier was their most notable free agent signing, agreeing to a two-year contract with a salary cap hit of $787,500. Forwards Karson Kuhlman and Brian Pinho were signed to one-year, two-way contracts.
2023 finish: 42-31-9, 93 points, eliminated in the first round
Key additions: Forward Julien Gauthier (57 games, nine goals, five assists, 14 points), forward Karlson Kuhlman (47 games, three goals, four assists, seven points), forward Brian Pinho (two goals, zero goals, zero assists, zero points)
Key departure: Forward Josh Bailey (64 games, eight goals, 17 assists, 25 points)
What it means: Gauthier is a former first-round selection (No. 21 overall in 2016) of the Carolina Hurricanes who is now with his fourth team as his enters his fifth NHL season. A big body at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, Gauthier is joining a franchise that values big forwards like Pierre Engvall, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Matt Martin. And if there is a organization that can help a lost player find a purpose in the NHL, it’s the systematically rigid Islanders.
